(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, JANUARY 04 - Stop to inks for tattoos and permanent make-up that contain toxic carcinogenic substances. The new European standards come into force today to ensure that products injected under the skin are safer and less risky for people's health. According to some estimates, around 4 thousand substances will disappear from the market, however for most of them there are already safe substitutes. On the other hand, the Blue 15 and Green 7 pigments will enjoy a special one-year exemption, until 4 January 2023, for which the European Commission and the Member States have decided to give industry more time to find alternative solutions.
The new rules therefore require color inks to be made by limiting the use of substances that are hazardous to health. "Many of the substances banned today are already banned in seven Member States, so it is not a complete novelty but the generalization of a practice that already exists in some countries," explained European Commission spokesman EricMamer.
According to statistics, about 12% of Europeans are tattooed, including teenagers. Restrictions on carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic substances, irritating ones for skin and eyes, while for those on which there is not enough data to establish a threshold, a very low amount is foreseen, equal to 0.1% (in finished products).
The Commission adopted the restrictions in December 2020 following studies showing evidence of allergies and skin problems due to tattoos, in response to a request from the Member States and on the basis of scientific and socio-economic impact assessments carried out by the European Chemical Substances Agency (ECA). .
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